AMD starts work on new Dresden Fab for 300mm wafers

 

Gallery

By Alun Williams

Posted on 20 Nov 2003 at 16:45

AMD has begun the construction of new manufacturing facilities in Dresden, Fab 36.

The significance of this lies in the fact it will support the processing of 300mm wafers - and the larger the wafer the more chips that can be produced from them. Furthermore, the site - which will produce the next generation of AMD products - will use AMD's patented manufacturing system, Automated Precision Manufacturing (APM 3.0).

Fab 36 is expected to start volume production in 2006 and is sited next to an existing AMD facility, Fab 30

'Positive customer response and increasing momentum for our AMD64 processors make it clear that the time is right to expand our manufacturing capacity in order to effectively meet future demand,' said Hector Ruiz, AMD's president and CEO.

The site in eastern Germany is expected to employ 1,000 people, and AMD will receive state funding from the Germans.

'By building in Dresden, we are able to leverage the outstanding capabilities of our existing AMD Fab 30 and gain access to the most substantial government-backed financial incentives package available to us,' said Bob Rivet, chief financial officer at AMD. 'We expect AMD Fab 36 will cost approximately $2.4 billion over the next four years. We have arranged external financing and government support of approximately $1.5 billion during that period. We believe AMD Fab 36 offers the best solution for meeting future customer demand while advancing long-term shareholder value.'

Intel has long produced chips from 300mm wafers, and has estimated them to cost 30 per cent less than those made using smaller wafers.

The accompanying picture is taken from the keynote of Paul Otellini, Intel's president and COO, at the recent Intel IDF. During an overview of Intel's current progress with silicon production Otellini showed off, for the first time, a 300mm silicon wafer built on Intel's next generation 65nm manufacturing process.